This week, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino announced the launch of a new mobile-optimized version of the City of Boston’s website (www.cityofboston.gov).
True to industry best practices, you’re automatically routed to the mobile version if you enter the URL from your phone. Boston is constantly innovating to bring Gov 2.0 services like Citizen Connect to mobile platforms. With the addition of this new mobile site, nearly all online city services are now accessible on the go.
I say “nearly all” only because the original press release states that users get access to “the information they want most,” which seems to imply some restriction as to functionality – a common issue with many mobile-specific websites.
Restrictions aside, it’s hard to complain about the new mobile-optimized Boston website which now allows you to instantly perform the following actions right from your phone:
- Find local activities and attractions
- See street sweeping reminders before you park
- File taxi complaints and stolen goods
- View real-time election results
The mobile version went live on April 14th, and is designed for use with smartphones like BlackBerries, Androids and iPhones.
I don’t even have a smartphone and I’m excited. There are so many potential interactions with the city government that cause citizen frustration. It’s hard not to wind up thinking, “There’s no way this has to be so hard.” We live in an age where messages are sent in the blink of an eye, and orders are placed instantly. It’s great to know that the people running our city are working to make sure interactions with the city of Boston can happen at the same speed.
For whatever reason, I always expect government protocol to be slow and tied to outmoded rituals that leave me standing in line in some musty office for three hours. It’s great to see Boston latching on to the technological revolution and using new resources to make citizens’ lives easier. In many ways, Gov 2.0 is the biggest up-and-coming movement on the Internet today.
After all, if you have the technology, why not use it? The constant innovation supported by Mayor Menino and the Boston government really breaks my stereotype of government procedure. It even gives me hope that someday hours of time in the DMV can be replace with a few minutes playing on my phone.
